"I don't care about ultimate weapons or unstoppable armor. I want to ease the sadness of people, their tragedies, mend the shattered hearts, sew together ripped flesh and set the broken bones. I'm not looking for miracles, I just want to help the world heal."

With a little love, and some tenderness, We'll walk upon the water, We'll rise above this mess, With a little peace, and some harmony, We'll take the world together, We'll take 'em by the hand,'Cause I've got a hand for you.... ------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks to taking over such a hefty role at a young age, Darius had a large hand in taking over the household chores and making sure that the shelves were stocked properly, firewood was brought in and all heavy items that his mother or sister couldn't handle were taken care of. The years of physical labor has left him surprisingly well muscled for a person of his profession. Another striking feature, that may not be considered the norm for a White Mage, is his height. Darius comes in at roughly 6'2" (188cm) tall and has rather bright blue eyes. Due to being one of the city doctors (yes he does home visits ladies~) Darius is meticulous in his physical upkeep, assuring his hair is constantly trimmed back. This doesn't stop him from regularly spotting a five o'clock shadow, however. It seems, as much as he tries to keep on top of shaving this doesn't work as well as he'd like. He holds a significant amount of pride in his profession and his ability to keep comrades standing. Darius is also prideful in being able to patch anyone up after incurring illness or combat. Thanks to this this, when in his White Mage equipment, he does tend to stand a little taller, a definite level of pride in his posture and air because quite frankly, he makes those robes look good, awww yeeaaaa.

Personality."I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love." - Mother Teresa

From a young age Darius was tasked with being the man of the house, because of this, he learned early, what it took to stand up in the social structure of Emillion. Not only that, but he became painfully aware of just how much prejudice and cultural lash back his mother and sister endured. This pushed him even further towards the beliefs of equality and standing up for others, helping those who have been hurt to recover and teaching them how to and protect their own when they needed to. Finding his mother crying tweaked him to be protective, to want to make her feel better after his father's death and would forever push him to want to make things right, or to help others feel better, even when circumstances are out of his control. The long series of heart breaks he's witnessed his sister endure has also caused him to be particularly sensitive to their needs.

In all, Darius is a result of the environment he was raised in. His caring, careful nature and desire to assure other's health can be linked back to the years of looking after his mother and her chronic illness. However, in the same instance as he's witnessed so much pain and frustration that others have brought to those that he loves, it makes him nervous and sometimes a bit over sensitive to other's emotions and potential reactions. Which further complicates his stance in life. Men do what need to be done to take care of those they need to, to protect, defend and keep those they love in good spirits and health yet... Darius recognizes there is a great deal of information that can be misconstrued at the same time causing pain to those one may love even if it wasn't one's intent.

The reality of the matter is Darius often finds himself caught between two aspects of his world. The first being a culture and machismo of masculinity and his desire to be helpful, and on some levels, nurturing of the ill.

His bedside manner is gentle, soft even to some degree with light humor to assist in easing his patient's minds. When faced with something that can threaten those in need of help, Darius has no problems stepping up to bat and while he tries to remain as non-violent as possible, there has been a moment or two thus far in his life in which Darius has found a darker side of himself exposed. This alternative side is filled with a bitter and angry calm that if augmented (and he doesn't seek help for it) may someday may be his downfall.

Even with his insecurities regarding how his profession and caring counteract his masculinity, Darius attempts to offset such things by a certain measure of cockiness and an attempt at charm that generally doesn't leave him falling flat on his face too often.

Though perhaps through helping others, he'll finally learn how to help himself.

History."Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies." - Mother Teresa

The Delacreaux family has been part of Emillion for the past century. Darius' father's father settled into the city before it came to be the major power it is today, but even then, it was still great. As his family before him, Darius was raised in the city and considers every street of Emillion, part of his home. This is the place he spent his youth, watched his sister grow up, and much more. The healer can still remember each place his father taught him another lesson, the ally where he had his first kiss, and where the doctor's shop used to be who took care of him as he grew.

The beginning of his life was easy, his family was never rich but they were comfortable. While they may not have had all of the latest gadgets, the kids had plenty of toys and technology to play with and explore and never went without their needs being met. At least, until his father contracted a rather severe illness. Then the rapid decline of his fathers’ health, regardless of how much his father denied the sickness quickly began to take its toll on the family. Armand was not only a good father, but also a proud Dragoon and, was soon to rise to the ranks of Dragon Rider with the Rangers of Emillion. Of course, life is never so simple and often has different plans than we do. The illness first began to erode Armand's lungs, causing him to have a horrible, hacking cough which was written off around his wife and children for as long as he could mange until blood began to be the norm and Armand's mighty combat leaps began to suffer.

It chipped away both at Armand's pride and goals; not to mention his heart and love of his profession in addition to his "bread winning" status within the family. All of this combined only ripped him apart even more. However, he managed to maintain his position for at least another year until Darius hit the age of 13 and walked into their house as a fight between his parents was ending. Armand stormed out, leaving Darius' mother, Madeline, standing there, pleading as tears streaked her face, begging for her husband to change his mind. Unfortunately, while Darius had a horrible feeling about the situation, he wouldn't understand the deeply serious nature of it until his father returned in a casket.

Later, it was explained in full that Armand's illness was killing him and he'd tried several different treatments, all of the failing to bring the results required to restore his health to full. However, each treatment was prolonging his life at least some in quantity, but the quality would always remain questionable, as there was no direct cure for his illness. Upon finding such, Armand had taken his life into his own hands and decided that he wished to have quality over quantity, accepting one last mission with the rangers, one that was undoubtedly going to be a suicide mission due to the dangers outlined in the mission roster. His decision was only compounded by the knowledge that "his" only son was actually born from another man as Madeline had cheated on him while out on his missions with the Rangers, claiming all the time he spent away from home did little to meet her needs.

To this day Darius still has some level of resentment for his father leaving the family in such a manner, but at the same time, on a level of being a man who is dedicated to his craft, Darius isn't sure he can fault his father for such a decision at this point in his life either.

Regardless of what Darius thinks of the past, it didn't change the situation that rolled out before him, his sister and his mother at the time. Thanks to the various medical expenses that Armand had undergone, the family had taken on considerable debt and while Armand had, had an impressive savings for his family and there was some life insurance money left, it wasn't enough to maintain the lifestyle that the family had been accustomed to. This forced Madeline to take on more serious work than the little odds and ends jobs she'd done while Armand was around. As Darius' father had brought in most of the family's money, Madeline had taken on the bulk of responsibility raising the children and maintaining the house.

With his father's death, this all changed. Money was constantly tight yet Madeline did everything she could to make sure her children were taken care of, sacrificing anything that was required of her to make sure her children obtained any benefit she could manage. Darius did everything he could around the house, even picking up some part time work for local shop keeps assisting with the family finances and became the 'man of the house'. He sacrificed and labored as hard as he could but even then, it wasn't hard enough to ease his worry about Madeline. Between working and saving money to assure her children could obtain decent education's and have the opportunity to enter the guilds Madeline sacrificed her own health, working long hours regardless of how she felt and ended up working herself into significant illness. Even then Madeline continued trying to work, fearing what might happen if the children were left on their own.

This time, when Madeline fell into illness, was much different than when Armand had, as Darius had begun his apprenticeship with the Mage's guild. For once, unlike with his father, this time Darius was able to do something, to help and not be left feeling powerless like he had when his father had been wasting away to an unknown illness before. Perhaps he couldn't take away the depression his mother felt from losing her 'one true love', as she regularly called Armand, but he could help with this, he could make her well again if it was the last thing he did. After years of watching his mother suffer physically, mentally and emotionally from the loss of his father, along with the pains his sister had gone through, it became clear what he had to do.

Darius assigned himself from general apprentice to White Mage apprentice that very day and has never looked back on that decision with any hesitance or question. If he could be taught to heal her body, and the bodies of others, perhaps someday, he would also learn the secret to healing the hearts of others. This decision also finally assuaged a deep-seated fear of Madeline's that she'd lose Darius to the Dragoon's, like she had Armand before him.

He took to White Magic naturally, almost as if this was what he was born to do. Which some found surprising considering his family history of his father's side being linked to the city guard and fighter's guild while his mother's side was considered little more than average citizens.

Strangely enough, after this turn of events things began looking up for the Delacreaux's. Madeline managed to open a small shop, nothing particularly spectacular, but it allowed the family to have a more comfortable life style once again and allowed her to cut back on the drastic amount of work she had taken on. In addition, it allowed Madeline to work close to home, which allowed her more time with her children. Little did most of the family know, this money for this venture came from Darius' blood father. Darius, taking so naturally to his chosen profession excelled rapidly, quickly moving into being one of the better and more relied upon healers in Emillion.

However, Darius would not be free of his hidden linage. Before long, another young man came to visit the shop, offering to help with the work. Feeling he was being displaced as man of the family, Darius couldn't help but be hostile towards the newcomer on some level. Madeline would dismiss such foolishness, telling Darius not to worry, that there was more than enough work for all the plans present and just because this new boy came to help, it didn't make him any less valuable. Regardless of such encouragement, it wouldn't change the fact that the two boys managed to get into at least a couple scuffles. Before such negativity was allowed to seep into the household, Madeline came clean to Darius, explaining exactly who Theo was and why he was there. While this was shocking and troublesome to hear, Darius took the news as well as anyone could expect. Knowing whom the man was and coming to the realization that Theo also did not view Edwin in a favorable light, helped to ease his unease with his half brother. Darius would, and still does, struggle with some conflict over her heritage but he does know that even though Madeline made some bad decisions, she loves him, his sister loves him, Armand loved him while he lived, and that's good enough for Darius.

Now, he visits his mother at least twice a week, once checking in on her and how she's doing as her illness is chronic and the second time for Sunday dinner (which all the kids are required to attend). Thankfully, as long as it's kept in check with proper care and medication, she'll live a long life yet. Additionally, his sister seems to be doing well and his role as an in house doctor, has earned him significant respect from those who require healing services. However, this hasn't saved him from some pressure from his mentor who believes Darius needs to begin moving into a secondary class, to really prove how powerful he can be. Darius on the other hand isn't sure he wants to be anything other than a White Mage at this time. Regardless, he has started learning some minor synergist spells. The other pressure in his life has started to come from his mother hinting about her being curious when he's going to settle down with a nice girl and start a family.

Strengths & Weaknesses."The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it." - Mother Teresa

Strengths:• BAMF as hell White Mage doomy-ness.• Will stand up for himself and others against things that will harm them.• Smart/logical guy.• Empathetic to other's plights.• Shows promise with the small amount of Synergist spells he's begun to practice.• In better shape than other White Mages due to his history.

Weaknesses:• Will almost always help• Overly humble when it comes to his good deeds.• More sturdy than other mage counter parts but still kind of sucking in combat.• Will ignore his own problems (they're nothing!) in light of someone else having issues.• Male in a largely female populated profession (gets shit from other men~)• Due to his height and build he's had instances where patients have been threatened by him, fearing him nothing more than a common thug.

Plot Ideas & Trivia."Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." - MLK Jr.

Plot ideas:• Coming to terms with the fact that he can't save everyone.• Becoming more of a bamf in his white magic badassery.• Letting others into his worries and problems in life.• Learning to really ask for help.• Not running out to help everyone who needs it.• Getting fully okay with being a male WM in a largely female profession.

Trivia:• Bachelor~• Enjoys reading.• Is sincerely considering his mother's standpoint of how he should be looking for a wife.• Has faintly entertained either "double majoring" in synergist or taking on the role of Geomancer, but is torn because he wants to be the best White Mage in the world at the same time.• Half brother to Theo Finch.• Hasn't approached his real father (Edwin Finch) but has mulled it over several times. It still lingers in the back of his head.

Writing Sample."Peace begins with a smile." - Mother Teresa

He's been at for a while now, even if the sun is just barely rising. It started as soon as Darius was in front of the clinic actually. A mental note was made about this, the fact that clearly people are becoming accustomed to his presence about this part of town. One person in need of an emergency Esuna, thanks to having picked up some nasty disease while trying to hunt for game outside the city walls, was the first on the list of patients. He'd have to alert the Rangers about this, no need to place more good men and women in danger of catching such a horrid, rotting disease. If enough of them caught it, there was a good chance he'd run himself ragged from casting that alone to be able to mend any actual wounds. That case was taken care of swiftly, from there it was a matter of wrapping wounds, setting bones, and helping a few mothers to sooth their colicky babes.

However, as White Mage's work is never done, especially one with his years and high level of expertise at this point. Most of his White Mage peers have 'grown out' of this class. They've moved into the next level of training, yet Darius has intentionally allowed his class progression to fall by the wayside. The higher ranking classes hold little to no interest for him, being a doctor, a High White Mage, is what he feels to be his calling. A movement by the door catches his attention for a brief moment before eyes flicker back down to the bandage he's been working on securing. The discussion with this patient is low, even and mostly one sided. Darius tells them how to take care of themselves, how to allow this wound to heal properly and it is met majortively with nods and low grunts of approval. Every once in a while the kid, a teenager, tosses in a 'yes sir' just for good measure it seems. Within a couple minutes, he's finished patching the boy up and waved him off to leave, instructing him to pick up an extra set of bandages and liniment on his way out the door. It feels like it may be time for a break but, even with the steady flow of patients he's been taking great care to handle delicately over the past several hours, more keep pouring through the clinic doors. There isn't actually enough White Mages to attend to all their needs, another item to make note of, but there's enough to at least figure out all the problems and then ask some with issues of lesser severity to come back later when the next shift comes in with fresh spells. Luckily, it wasn't many that shall be on that list, and he's already organized how to treat them in his mind. While Darius hadn't been planning on coming back here later or tomorrow when he first set out to assist with the clinic today, now he's already made up his mind, even if he hadn't realized it under pondering over the order of patient treatment.

A low huff is given, the back of one hand raising up to wipe at his forehead, rubbing away the moisture that has been faintly starting to gather there. Shoulders roll and muscles stretch before he gives a simple wave of his hand, gesturing for the next person in need of treatment. An organizer, someone helping to keep the flow of patients steady moves to direct the next patient in and Darius can only take a moment to wonder what the next surprise will be. However, it doesn't take long for the organizer to come back, asking if Dr. Delacreaux might be willing to come see a patient in the waiting room.